ADVOCACY ACTION: Take action against Bill C-2, and put our communities first!

Today, Members of Parliament are expected to vote on Bill C-2, the so-called Respect for Communities Act. This bill attacks the human rights of people who use drugs, impeding their access to life-saving harm reduction services. If it becomes law, Bill C-2 would create an onerous, unreasonable process for health authorities and community agencies seeking to open, or maintain, desperately-needed supervised consumption services, such as Vancouver’s Insite. We have released a statement on behalf of 120 Canadian civil society organizations, to protest Bill C-2.

We strongly oppose Bill C-2 and are asking our elected representatives to reject it. Instead of improving access to evidence-based health services, this bill creates barriers for people who use drugs. Our communities deserve better.

We need you to take action using the following steps – let’s tell our parliamentarians about the dangers of turning Bill C-2 into law:

1. Contact the federal party leaders, the Minister of Health and Health Critics

Tweet, email or call these politicians to let them know why they should oppose Bill C-2 (see the suggested tweets below). You can also direct them to the critical analysis of the bill, An Injection of Reason, put out by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (@aidslaw) and the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition (@CANdrugpolicy): http://bit.ly/injectionofreason.

Stephen Harper                                Thomas Mulcair
Prime Minister of Canada                   Leader of the New Democratic Party
@PMHarper                                      @ThomasMulcair
stephen.harper@parl.gc.ca                thomas.mulcair@parl.gc.ca
1-613-992-4211                              1-613-995-7224

Justin Trudeau                                   Elizabeth May
Leader of the Liberal Party                 Leader of the Green Party
@JustinTrudeau                                @ElizabethMay
justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca                  Elizabeth.May@parl.gc.ca
1-613-995-8872                               1-613-996-1119

Rona Ambrose                                   Murray Rankin
Health Minister                                  NDP Health Critic
@MinRonaAmbrose                           @MurrayRankin
rona.ambrose@parl.gc.ca                   Murray.Rankin@parl.gc.ca
1-613-996-9778                               1-613-996-2358

Hedy Fry
Liberal Health Critic
@HedyFry
Hedy.Fry@parl.gc.ca
1-613-992-3213

In addition to the politicians mentioned above, send a message to your own MP.  Click here to find your MP by typing in your postal code, and then click on their email address to send them your message.

Suggested tweets: 

@JustinTrudeau You recently spoke in favour of safe injection sites. If it passes, #BillC2 will obstruct them #drugpolicyfail #cdnpoli

@ThomasMulcair Your MPs have spoken in Parliament in favour of safe injection sites. #BillC2 would obstruct them #drugpolicyfail #cdnpoli

Don’t harm the health of people in my communities. Read why #BillC2 is an outrage http://bit.ly/injectionofreason #drugpolicyfail #cdnpoli

Put harm reduction + the well-being of our communities first. Vote against #BillC2 http://bit.ly/injectionofreason #cdnpoli #drugpolicyfail

@PMHarper @MinRonaAmbrose Supreme Court said safe injection sites save lives, but your #BillC2 would obstruct them #drugpolicyfail #cdnpoli

2. Share CDPC’s video on politicians’ #DrugPolicyAbuse problem
Encourage Canadians to share the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition’s (@CANdrugpolicy) #DrugPolicyAbuse video (from their #DrugPolicyAbuse campaign)

Suggested tweets:

Does your politician have a drug policy abuse problem? Speak out against #BillC2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX5iFRD49m8 #cdnpoli #drugpolicyfail

Here are some signs your politician may have a drug policy abuse problem. Stop #BillC2http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX5iFRD49m8 #cdnpoli #drugpolicyfail

3. Use #DrugPolicyFail for your conversations

Keep the conversations going on why drug policy is failing in Canada and why Bill C-2 is only making things worse, by using the #drugpolicyfail hashtag (along with #cdnpoli and #BillC2).

Suggested tweets:

Here’s why #Canada is no longer a leader in global drug policy: http://bit.ly/cssdp-cdpc #drugpolicyfail

#BillC2 undermines the rights of people who use drugs to access harm reduction services like @InsiteVan, which saves lives #drugpolicyfail

If #BillC2 passes it’ll be harder to open safe injection sites, a harm reduction measure proven to work #drugpolicyfail #cdnpoli

4. Share these steps with your friends and your networks

We need your help to get the message across Canada about how Bill C-2 undermines the rights of people who use drugs to access life-saving health services.